The Dark Angels have the honor of being the First Legion of the twenty original Space Marine Legions. Their Primarch is Lion El’Jonson.
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The Dark Angels have the honor of being the first Space Marine Legion created by The Emperor of Mankind. In the early days of the Great Crusade, the Dark Angels became the test and standard by which all future Legions would be judged and based. As such, they were prone to experimental methods of combat, creating six “Hosts” known as the Hexagrammaton. These later became known as the Dreadwing, Stormwing, Ravenwing, Ironwing, Firewing, and Deathwing although these terms are Calibanite in origin and the original Legion would have used different terminology.
They were also equipped with large number of advanced Archaeotech and plasma weapons. In this period, the Dark Angels were not even known as the 1st Legion as no others existed yet, the Emperor simply referred to them as his “Angels of Death” or the Six Hosts. In these early days of the Great Crusade, the 1st Legion was undoubtedly the most powerful. When the Primarchs were scattered throughout the galaxy by the Ruinous Powers while still in their infancy, the child who would be named Lion El’Jonson landed on the distant planet of Caliban, which bore some resemblance to medieval Terra. Luther, who discovered El’Jonson and prevented his death at the hands of his fellow knights, was a member of the Order, an organization of knights, and the two become close friends. The Primarch eventually became the leader of the Order and the whole of Caliban.
Meanwhile, unknown to the people of Caliban, the Emperor was waging his Great Crusade across the galaxy, reuniting humanity and purging entire star systems of their alien oppressors. As the Imperium’s wave of conquest advanced across the galaxy, Imperial scouts rediscovered the isolated world of Caliban. It was not long before the Emperor was at last reunited with El’Jonson and was filled with joy as a father would be on finding his lost son.
The Emperor’s first action was to give Lion El’Jonson control of his 1st Legion, though older knights of the order plotted to assassinate both the Primarch and his father but were foiled by Zahariel. This legion of Space Marines had been created by the Emperor from its Primarch’s DNA samples and had fought alongside the other Imperial forces as the Great Crusade was waged across the galaxy. The 1st Legion was thereafter termed the Dark Angels, in reference to a Caliban legend that told of great, righteous heroes who held back monsters. Announced by the Primarch, the connotation was in fact first drawn by Luther, who quoted a section from the legend upon first seeing Astartes descending using jump packs: “And the angels of darkness descended upon pinions of fire and light…the great and terrible dark angels.”
Caliban was made the homeworld of the Dark Angels and the whole of the Order moved to join the ranks of the Astartes. Those knights who were still young enough had the Legion’s gene seed implanted within them. Those too old for this process underwent surgery to transform them into elite warriors of the Imperium. Although they were not full Space Marines, their enhancements granted them special abilities and a lifespan beyond those of normal men. The first to be brought into the Legion in this way was Luther, who became Jonson’s second-in-command, just as he always had been within the Order. However, the Dark Angel’s contributions to the Great Crusade had barely begun when the Lion sent Luther and a small contingent of Dark Angels back to Caliban, purportedly to garrison the world and increase the speed and quality of the training given to the Legion’s recruits. Whatever the reason, the force sent back felt disgraced and rejected.
The Great Crusade had to go on: there were countless human worlds that were still under the influence of Chaos or suppressed by the harsh rule of alien races. In an infamous episode of the Great Crusade, the Lion and Leman Russ, Primarch of the Space Wolves Legion, came to blows over the latter’s action during the siege of the Crimson Fortress. This event began a feud which still continues strong in the 41st millennium, usually taking the form of a ritualistic duel between two elected champions, although it has been known to manifest itself in a very violent manner.
As the first of the Astartes Legions, the Dark Angels were quite large during the early to mid Great Crusade. However during the Third Rangdan Xenocide the I Legion lost 50,000 Battle-Brothers saving the northern Imperium, a steep cost they would never truly recover from. This contributed to the Dark Angels eventually losing their status as the most powerful Space Marine Legion, a title that would ultimately be claimed by the Ultramarines.
As Jonson’s fame spread throughout the galaxy and reports of his great deeds and prowess in battle reached the Legion’s home world, Luther felt robbed of his share of the glory. He wanted the fame and recognition that he felt he deserved as Jonson’s equal. His role as planetary governor of some half-forgotten backwater world seemed more and more to him like an insult. The seed of jealousy and dissension that had been planted within Luther when Jonson was made the Grand Master of the Order now began to grow and rankle within his heart as the Primarch became more and more celebrated and famous.
The seeds of heresy were further planted during the Dark Angels crusade against the Sarosh, who managed to sneak a nuclear warhead onto the Lion’s flagship. Invincible Reason. Luther discovered the plot and for a moment, overcome by jealously, wondered if he should leave Jonson to his fate. However he quickly proved his loyalty by foiling the Sarosh assassination attempt, but somehow The Lion discovered his hesitation. Luther and a portion of the Dark Angels were sent to Caliban, but left to aid Horus during the Zaramund Campaign. The Lion was furious at this unapproved deployment, and angrily demanded Luther return to his banishment. Feeling abandoned on Caliban and dealing with a rebellion by the landless nobility and Chaos agents, Luther and his forces would slowly turn against their Primarch.
Read More About The Dark Angels During the Great Crusade
